Contents

History

Oliver "Ollie" Queen came from a wealthy background but held left-wing views from an early age. While in college, he joined protests against nuclear power.[1] A skilled archer, he dressed himself as Robin Hood, developed an arsenal of trick arrows with various functions, dubbed himself Green Arrow and became a vigilante. Like Batman, he also took in and trained a younger protégé named Roy Harper, who would be known as Speedy.

Justice League roll call

Green Arrow was summoned to enlist in the new expanded Justice League. However, as he failed to reply, John Stewart showed up when he was thwarting a grocery store robbery and teleported him into the JL Watchtower. There, Green Arrow saw the assembled superheroes, but he was still skeptical about joining such an organization. His main concern was helping the underprivileged in society which, according to him, tended to be forgotten by heroes whose main goal is fighting even bigger threats. Batman attempted to persuade him to be the team's conscience, but Green Arrow remained unconvinced. Not wanting to be teleported again, he insisted on going with Lantern, Supergirl, and Captain Atom, so that they could drop him off at home following a mission.[1]

Green Arrow victorious.

Green Arrow was involuntarily dragged into the mission which involved investigating a radioactive accident in Chong-Mai. The authorities insisted that the incident was under control and the Leaguers depart. Naturally distrustful of authority, Arrow set off to track the root of the problem on his own. He came upon a gigantic flaming creature that blazed everything that crossed its path. Green Arrow attempted to repel it with his explosive arrows, but all in vain. Upon Captain Atom's failure to shut down the behemoth's reactor, Green Arrow attached a containment rod to an arrow, and hit the target with great dexterity. Subsequently, Green Arrow decided to join the League, in part to keep them honest, but also due to a sudden infatuation with Black Canary.[1]

Acquaintances

Ollie Queen.

Following the mission in Chong-Mai, Green Arrow befriended Supergirl, and the two started to hang out. As a result, Green Arrow assisted Kara in unraveling the mystery behind her eerie dreams.[2] Some time later, Black Canary sought his help with a secret mission. Green Arrow was reluctant at first, but eventually accepted, if only to get to know her. They broke into the Meta-Brawl fight arena to bail Wildcat out, but they failed to convince him. After Black Canary proposed to defeat Wildcat in the arena, in exchange for his freedom, Green Arrow knocked her out with a gas arrow and took her place to fight Wildcat. Green Arrow taunted and provoked Wildcat into beating him to a pulp. Right about when Wildcat delivered the coup de grâce, Green Arrow staged his death by using a metabolic stunner on himself. This maneuver not only caused Wildcat to relinquish the arena, but it also won him Black Canary's affection. Arrow and Canary became an item from that point on.[3]

Political views

During the Project Cadmus affair, Green Arrow's place as the team's conscience proved invaluable in preventing the League from succumbing to the same kind of violent temptation that created the tyrannical Justice Lords. When Superman was resolute to bring down Cadmus by force, Green Arrow advocated a more diplomatic approach. As one of the few non-powered heroes, and with strong left-wing convictions aided by an eloquent sophistication, Green Arrow rationalized the existence of Cadmus as a necessary means for the government to protect the people in case the League went rogue. This perspective was pivotal to dissuade the heroes from taking a more drastic course of action, which could lead to war with the government and likely the world.[4]

When Superman announced the disbandment of the Justice League, Green Arrow acted once again as the voice of the people ― coming full circle with Batman's original intentions for him ― and stepped up, declaring how the world needed them. Now he understood their purpose and the good they could do for the people. He refused to quit and asserted that the League would go on with or without its charter members, which was enough for Superman to reconsider.

"You remember what we did yesterday? We saved the world – again. You don’t think that has any value, well think again, pal. The Justice League goes on, with or without you. Look, nobody can question your service or commitment to making things better. If you’re quitting because you think you’ve already done your fair share, fine, we'll throw you a parade. But if you’re quitting because it’s easier than continuing the fight, then you’re not the heroes we all thought you were. The world needs the Justice League... and the Justice League needs you, Superman."[5]

Later adventures

Green Arrow carried on as an active member of the Justice League. He was part of the team that prevented the Legion of Doom from stealing the Viking ship. In this mission, he single-handedly broke into their submersible and released the towed ship.[6] Green Arrow later attended a commemorative parade in Metropolis in Superman's place, alongside Stargirl, S.T.R.I.P.E., Vigilante, and Shining Knight. When an empowered Wade Eiling crashed into the parade and engaged the heroes, Green Arrow faced him with all his might, spending all his arsenal of trick arrows. He called Mr. Terrific for backup and got the Crimson Avenger and Speedy, his old sidekick. Green Arrow and Speedy seemed to have some unresolved issues, but given the circumstances, they postponed their squabble and combined their last resort, two quantum arrows, to unleash a concussion blast. However, their effort was ineffective in the face of Eiling's superior strength.[7]

Green Arrow maintained a friendly relationship with Supergirl. She would often hang out with him and Black Canary — something that Arrow brought to Superman's attention, as he noted that the Man of Steel was neglecting his foster cousin. By now, the two men had themselves become close since they referred to each other as "Ollie" and "Clark".

On her 21st birthday, Supergirl, Arrow and Lantern were abducted by Brainiac 5 to the 31st century. The last standing members of the Legion of Super-Heroes needed help to defeat the Fatal Five and free their mind-controlled colleagues. After they succeeded, they were made honorary member of the Legion and Arrow and Lantern went back to their own time — without Supergirl who, with Arrow's encouragement, had started a romance with Brainiac 5. In the present, Arrow assured Superman that Kara knew how proud he was of her.[8]

During Darkseid's last invasion of Earth, Green Arrow and Black Canary fought side-by-side against the invading forces in Rome.[9]